Early To Rise

I remember when I was a little boy I used to wake my parents up at the crack of dawn on Christmas morning. They’d roll out of bed, bleary-eyed, and shuffle into the living room like zombies. I mention this because lately every day feels like Christmas in our house – except, you know, with none of the awesome presents.

Annie used to be good at sleeping in. Heather and I were able to wake up, start our day, then rouse the kid when we were ready. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown, Annie has started to get up earlier and earlier (and earlier). This glorious morning, for example, my little rooster was crowing at 6:22 a.m.

I’m awake! DADAAAAAAAA!!!”

Making matters worse? Annie has figured out that the medication Heather takes for her nausea puts her in a deep sleep, so she focuses squarely on me. Each morning there’s a little being standing on my side of the bed, tugging on my arm.

“Dada! Dada! Wake up!”

“Go back to bed, Sweetie.”

“Wanna go in the family room, Dada?”

“No. Dada’s still sleeping.”

“You’re not! You’re awake!”

“Zzzzz.”

“Dada!”

“Snort, er, what?”

“Wanna go in the family room, Dad? Pleassssssse?”

At this point I usually pull Annie into bed and try to get her to sleep a bit longer, but after a few minutes of being smacked in the face by flailing toddler appendages, I give up and stumble out of bed.

Heather suggested that we buy a kid’s sleep clock to put in her room. These “sleep clocks” let children know when it is and isn’t okay to get up. One sleep clock, for example, remains red all night, then turns green when it’s time to rise. Heather seems confident that one of these clocks might work, but I’m dubious. I have a hard time believing a clock is going to stop Annie if she wants to get up.

It’s difficult to figure out why we’ve seen such a dramatic shift. Annie’s daily routine, including her bedtime, hasn’t changed at all. And while she now seems to get up the minute the sun is out, she used to sleep long past sunrise with no problem.

This may sound silly, but I wonder if it’s partially the fault of her cartoons. Yesterday Annie was watching one when the dad on the show told his kids that he’d be done sleeping when the sun came out. What the heck, cartoon? You couldn’t have said “done sleeping half an hour after the sun comes up?” Or “when Daddy’s alarm clock goes off?” Ugh. The people making that show mustn’t have kids.

In all seriousness, all of this early rising has done a number on me, and I basically spent all of yesterday fighting drowsiness. I think I’m about to get on Amazon and order about four of those sleep clocks. One of them has to work, right?

47 Comments

karen says:

Soon you’ll be getting her ready for school and you will be grateful for a child thats up and ready to go! My youngest does NOT want to wake up any morning and it can be a real struggle not to yell and ball at her for being grouchy and sleepy!

Katie says:

I’m sure you’ve both tried it all. But here’s a suggestion from the kid who was hard to get up for school (and STILL hates mornings).

First, mom bothering me meant we were BOTH grouchy. It never helped. Also, I absolutely needed those extra, uninterrupted minutes. If I said ‘5 more’ and those 5 minutes were spent being told to get up, I wanted 5 more! So what works? Being left alone to slowly wake up, and setting several alarms. I set 2-3 alarms now – one an hour before getting up, and 20-30 minutes before I *must* get up, and then when I have to get up (and yes, MUST means bare minimum time to get ready, but I will be ready). That way, I trick myself into feeling like I got to ‘sleep in’ and limit my morning time.

Ann says:

We picked up one of the sleep clocks for our older daughter – we were having issues with her staying up late and getting up too early. Honestly, the clock was fabulous and made a HUGE difference. We told her that she needs to turn off her light when the clock is yellow (overnight) and she can’t come in to see us until it’s green (morning). In my experience, kids this age really respond well to consistent rules and ours immediately observed the rules (once we reinforced them a few times). It’s really made our life so much more pleasant without the daily negotiating about bedtime/wakeups.

Julie says:

I agree re: clocks. My three year old is a number kid so we bought him a regular digital clock and that’s worked well for the last year and a half. He gets up to go potty before 7:00 (his “allowed” wake time) but doesn’t disturb us. Our emotional trade off is that we really do always have to let him get up at 7 regardless of when he went to bed, and we have to get up with him then EVERY SINGLE DAY, because like Ann said, with this topic it is ALL about consistency, and giving kids information. if Annie is good with numbers (i KNOW that she is smart) then maybe it might be ok to try a regular clock – I am psyched about how well my little guy understands time just by staring at the clock in the morning waiting to get out of bed! The more information the better for those little minds.

Ann says:

Great point about the reality of having to live with your own rules! We are the same way – we know we have to let our older daughter get up once the clock is green, even when she literally sits on the edge of her bed and waits for the light to turn, and then bounds up to come and see us. We also push ourselves to really, really limit exceptions to the bedtime/wakeup rule. Once you make an exception, I find that my kids just keep trying to get the exception made and it defeats the purpose of the rules!

Molly says:

We have the OK to Wake clock and it works great, although it does take some reminders/reinforcement (“Is your clock green yet? Ok, then go back to your room” and reminding them before bedtime). I think early 3 might also be a big sleep regression time, so she may go back to sleeping in again eventually. Both of my kids have at various times gone from sleeping till 8 every morning to waking at 6 or 6:30. Sometimes they we t back to the later schedule on their own–but when they haven’t the clock has been helpful!

Mommy says:

We have the ok to wake clock too and it’s super cute. It comes with a heart faceplate and a bug- though our son thinks the bug is a robot, and he is obsessed with robots, so if the robot clock isn’t green, he does not get up! We set it at 7:00 and it works like a charm. It even has a nap timer- good for kiddos who don’t actually sleep anymore, but need to “rest” for an hour or so..

Vicky says:

lilcg says:

buy the clock! I bought one for my daughter last summer just after she turned three and it made such a difference. we have the ok to wake one that has the interchangeable face–pink flower or green frog? alien? It works perfectly. You still have to remind her and she knows the magic words to avoid the clock are “I have to go potty,” but my life improved after I bought it.

Sara says:

I couldn’t take that, so we bought a blackout curtain for our daughter’s room. 10 bucks later she does not wake up with the sun anymore.

As she’s gotten older, we put a regular alarm clock in her room. Above it, in numbers that match her clock, put 7:00. She’s allowed to come get daddy (she knows Mommy’s not a morning person and waking her up if it’s not an emergency is bad news bears) if it’s past that time, but not before. Many a Saturday morning she’s wandered into our room at exactly 7AM, but it was better than whenever she felt like it was time to get up.

Heather says:

Kids do go through changes in their sleep at different ages. It’s just the same as them shifting from being newborns (sleeping 22 hours a day), to needing 2 naps, to needing 1 nap, to no naps, then to needing 12 hours at night, then 10. This will continually change throughout their lives, as do our sleep habits. Teenagers need 9 hours every night, while adults need 6-8 and elderly people sometimes need much less. It’s all a cycle. I think that making sure her blinds are closed is important, and trying one of those clocks sounds great. That way, the sun doesn’t tell her when it’s morning, the clock does. As an adult, it is very important to use sunlight to help us wake, as it stops our body from producing melatonin (the sleep chemical). When we keep our rooms very dark in the morning, we are much more groggy. While children are more adaptable at a young age (annoyingly so ). They don’t seem to take as long to wake once they are up. So I would not worry about darkening her room.

Kim Q says:

Dude, get the sun/moon nightlight- the Good Nite Light. We are using it now for our 2nd child (also used for the first), with wake up time set for 5:30. Yes, 5:30. Because 5:30 is infinitely better than 4:30. It’s a compromise, because really, to set it for 8:00 would not be feasible. Does it work? YES! As long as you are realistic with your time settings.

It glows as a moon (blue) during the times you set for sleep, and when wake up time hits, it glows as a sun (orange). My 2 year old now wakes up every morning and the first thing she says is, “Orange- time to wake up!”

So like I said, be realistic in your wake up time and it works great. My early riser will never sleep in til 8, but we make 5:30 work for us, because like I said, it’s a compromise we can live with.

Jennifer says:

Susannah H. says:

We have the Teach Me Time (same company as OK to Wake) clock that turns green whenever you decide is an appropriate wake-up time, and it has been a lifesaver for us. We have been using it for 4 years since our oldest was 2 1/2. We decided 7 was as late as our kiddos would reasonably sleep and/or hang out in their room, but it’s not very bright so it doesn’t wake them if they want to sleep a little later. Unfortunately, we are now waking up our 6-year-old on weekdays because elementary school starts so early here!

We used to have the same problem with my son (I saw pre-6 am WAY more times than I would ever want to!), but now (finally!) he sleeps until at least 7. His younger sister, on the other hand, is an absolute nightmare to wake up before daycare – I’m not sure what’s worse! Not that that heps you, of course, but maybe it gives some encouragement that things will get better. Doing away with naps, or shorter naps, might help, and trying out the clock can’t hurt. But also (yay?!), remember that we jump our clocks forward an hour soon – that may take care of the problem for you :-).

Where do you work, Mike that you can sleep in? Wow! I have been getting up before 6:00 a.m. since college.

I just make sure the hubby and I are in bed by 10:00(ish).

I do understand, though because my youngest (turning 2 next week) has been a horrible sleeper since birth. We go through cycles where he will not go to bed and cries forever unless we put him in with us. Then he will go down easily and wake up at 3 or 4 or 5. We have gone through the no tears sleep solution and crying it out Feber method more times than I can count. *yawn*

Teresa says:

When our daughter was around 3 we noticed her going to bed at the same time but getting up earlier. So we shortened her naps. I’m not sure if Annie is still napping or not but you may want to try it. But then they will be more tired at night – so try to make sure you don’t put them to bed earlier Good luck!

Stacy says:

My son is 10 and he has been an early riser since he was about 4. Now if he sleeps in past 7am on the week-ends, it’s a victory. Thankfully, he’s at the age now where I don’t have to get up with him to make sure he doesn’t burn the house down but it took a long time for me to get him to realize that just because he was awake doesn’t mean everyone else wants to be. I hope Annie gives you a break soon, I wish I had some great advice for you!

S says:

Blackout shades!! They are the BEST invention ever. Not blackout curtains, but blackout shades. They do make some nice looking ones, I bought mine at home depot in a pretty mocha color then put my curtains over it, so it’s not too big black panels in the window. These honestly made the room really dark, so there would be no way to see if the sun was up until you pull the shade up. We do use ours with a night light (so when he wakes up, it’s as dark as when he went to sleep) and one of those clocks. I think between the shades and the clock, you guys should be set.

Angela Adlich says:

Our daughter had this same issue with waking up earlier than us. We have a room darkening curtain, aka a thick beach towel, we just hung over her window and it really helped. Also, we taught her to just play quietly in her room. She can read, play with quiet toys, color, etc. She’s 10 now and still does this and it is awesome!! Good luck and keep us posted please with how it all turns out and if you end up getting the clock. Thanks!

Stacie says:

I agree with all the other posts…darker room and clock. We have the ok to wake clock and my youngest son will play quietly in his room unil 7:00 when it turns green. This clock is good for many ages other than just setting it for ok to wake so it’s something you can definitely get your money’s worth for.
Although my youngest will usually wait until the clock is green, he does get lonely being up by himself so it doesn’t last long until he is back bugging me.
Also, I’m not sure what kind of breakfasts you guys have but I would fill up the kids cups the night before and leave in the fridge and fill a plastic bowl with dry cereal and put a lid on it to keep from becoming stale, and leave it out where they could find it in the morning so starvation wasn’t an issue. They would turn the t.v. on and watch their shows while munching their cereal. Buys you a bit more time.
Good luck!

Becky says:

I’ve never heard of those clocks, but it could be worth a shot! I’d also suggest buying heavier/darker curtains! You can hang them behind the pretty ones she has in her room, so it doesn’t affect the overall look and they’ll keep the sun out of her face!

Also, kids do tend to sleep less as they get older, just as they give up naps, etc. Maybe you could have cuddle time on the couch whiel she watches cartoons and you catch a few more minutes of sleep!?

S says:

The main reason I have not gotten a sleep clock for my daughter (who started the same early rising at roughly the same age) is because I’m afraid she will take it too literally and might not make it to the bathroom if her clock says she shouldn’t be awake. But otherwise, I think they’re genius because I can’t deal with 6 AM wake-ups.

Mommy says:

I was scared of that too, because we got the clock right after potty-training! But we never had an issue- we tell our son that if he has to go potty and the clock isn’t green, he has to go quickly and get right back to bed. If it is green, he can go potty and then go wake up mommy or daddy.

Shanan says:

I got one of those sleep clocks for my son when he was 3. After a few times of trying to pretend he forgot and me saying “Is your clock green?” he now knows it’s a no go until then and doesn’t even try anymore. Best thing I ever did. GET ONE.

Abbie says:

We had trouble with our 3 year old after bringing home her baby sister. She heard me saying that I was up all night with the baby so she started getting up during the night, too. We bought a regular timer (like what people use for Christmas lights) and a nightlight. While the nightlight is on, it’s night time. When the light goes off, she knows its okay to get up. Works like a charm!

Julene says:

So I may be outnumbered here but even with the clock option working my suggestion might also be nice on a Saturday morning when you want to sleep in a bit more. The night before, we would put a snack that we allowed in a place that our littles could get to. Dry cereal, fruit snack, etc. We then also had a few buttons on the TV remote that we could program and they were colored and said A, B, C on them. We programmed them to the channels we allowed ours to watch and then when they wanted to get up, they could quietly go upstairs, get their snack and watch some morning cartoons. You still had to enforce what “too” early was but it made for a nice relaxing morning and everyone was happy. We did this from about 3 on. Now it was not a normal day to day thing that they did because we were up for work most of those days but on the weekends or on a day that we could sleep later it was wonderful.

Carolyn says:

The color changing clock worked wonders in this house! We told our daughter that her feet could not touch the ground until the clock turned green. And it worked! We’ve been using it for over a year now. Give it a try – you have nothing to lose!

Irene says:

Jamie says:

If by saying that nothing has changed you mean that she is still napping- maybe she is just getting enough sleep and is ready to be up at that time. As she gets older she will need less sleep so maybe if she is still taking good naps she just doesn’t need to sleep as much as night? With our daughter, we put a digital clock in her room and told her that the first number has to be 6 when she can get up- instead of buying that clock on Amazon. It has worked well and we started this when she was 3ish. Of course we set the clock 30 minutes behind so that she really gets up at 6:30

Maureen says:

Erin says:

I didn’t have time to read all the other comments, but my question is, how long does she nap most days? If she’s napping consistently more than like an hour and a half, start waking her up at about the hour mark. Before you tell me this is mean and crazy, I should say we had this same issue with my son, and two of his preschool teachers who both hold advanced degrees in early childhood education recommended it to me. Worked like a charm; reducing the nap helped him go to sleep more easily at night and stay in bed until a more reasonable hour in the morning.

Bella says:

Jessica says:

We’ve had this issue, too! Our daughter has gotten up as early as 5:30 am, goes to the gate at the top of the stairs, shakes the gate, and yells, “Are you going to come get me now or what?” Our room is downstairs, so this is all she can do. We’ve forbidden her from going in her older sister’s room and waking her up. We try to make sure she’s in bed by 7 am so she gets enough sleep. Some days she sleep longer than others. I actually had to wake her up one time this week at 6:30 am when it was time for preschool. We put an alarm clock in her room and have tried to get her to understand which time is 7 am (she’s 4 1/2), but it’s not helping. We are considering one of the sleep clocks, too. I would suggest getting one ASAP since Annie is so young. It is nice that she’s up for preschool on weekdays, but the early wake-up calls on weekends are difficult. We wish she would sleep in a little sometimes. It would probably be good for her! I wonder if Annie’s necessary sleep requirements have just changed since she’s older? Good luck!

aqua6 says:

We got the sleep clock when our daughter was about 2 1/2 I think. She’s now almost 5 and still using it. I’d say a handful of times she’s refused to watch it but the rest of the time she obeys it. We got it on Amazon and it looks like a stoplight. I think this is more effective than the ones that just have the sun/moon or other images. She knows how a stoplight works and you can set the time. There’s no sound to it, so if she sleeps past it turning green there’s no issue. It was about $30 on Amazon. Well worth it!!

Mommy says:

Like everyone has said: blackout shades/curtains and the ok to wake clock!!

Also, not to toot my own horn, but my boys are rock star sleepers. They both sleep 12+ hours a night, uninterrupted, and they both nap for 2 hours during the day at 4 and 2 years old. Before you hate me, I didn’t really do much, they were both good sleepers early on, and we just went with what they seemed to want with a little tweaking here and there. Well-rested kiddos= well-rested parents, and everyone’s life is so much less stressful!!

Someone once told me, sleep begets sleep. And I totally believe it. If my boys are overtired from teething or traveling, they don’t fall asleep as easily, but when they are well-rested and on our normal schedule, they fall asleep almost immediately at 7:00 p.m. (6:00 for my little one) and sleep like champs until 7:00 a.m. or later each morning.

When my oldest was around Annie’s age, he started getting up at 6:00 (or earlier!), so even though it was counterintuitive, we moved his bedtime EARLIER from 8:00 to 7:00, and he went back to sleeping later. I know it doesn’t make any sense, but our pediatrician suggested it and it worked. Something about some chemical that is produced when they are aren’t getting enough sleep each night that gives them energy and wakes them up earlier or something like that. All I know is that it worked- and that for us, a 3 year old who gets 12-14 hours of sleep is soooooo much less of a handful than one who has only slept 9 hours or so. Try it!!!

Good luck, and here’s hoping that she lets you sleep until 8:00 tomorrow!!

Mommy says:

As if my comment was not long enough, I forgot to add that some kids do really well with white noise machines. She might be a little old to start if you don’t use it already, but it does help to drown out morning noise and can help little ones sleep later in the morning! Might be worth a shot.

Lisa N says:

For what it’s worth, I bought this one for my sonon the recommendation of a friend who used it with her twins. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002RNKOM2/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1362157241&sr=8-1&pi=SL75 He was waking us up between 6-6:30am and with a baby in the house who was also causing me to lose sleep (but actually slept in the AM) I was going crazy. It works great. He plays happily in is room and comes out to get us when it turns green. It took about a week of positive reinforcement, and he loves it. Totally worth the investment.

Amy says:

Add me to the chorus of advocates for the clock. My three year old has had one for a year and a half. The first words out of her mouth every morning are “The clock is green!” Otherwise, she knows she needs to play quietly in her room. If you’re consistent, it can work wonders.

Heather G says:

My boys were about 3 when I bought them a digital clock. I made a sign that read 7:00 and put next to it. They were told to stay in their room till the clock matched the sign. When it did they could wake me (note for when siblings are involved: don’t wake the sibling!) as they’ve gotten older (now 8 & 6) the rule is they can leave their rooms then, get breakfast, watch tv or play as long as they do so quietly. I’m finally starting to sleep till 7:05 again!